Apparatus for assorting fruit.



MARTIN F. I WITT,O F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOB ASSO-RTING FRUIT.

l No. eaaeio.

4 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 17, 1906.

Application filed Febrpary 26, 1906. Serial No. 302,948..

T all' whom, zt may conqern: Beit known that I, MARTIN F. WITT, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Los Angeles, county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented certain Improvements in A paratus for Assort- -ing Fruits, of which'the ollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for assorting fruit according to its sizes. Devices of this kind are sometimes known as fruitgraders, and are used to separate the fruit as picked from the trees into its several sizes so that such fruit may be packed in suitable boxes, each box containing fruit of substan- 1, tially the same size.

The objecty of this invention is to provide apparatus for this purpose which shall be ex tremely simple and durable in construction and positive and eificient in operation.

In general the invention consists in the "provision of al suitable Jframe having a horizontal iianged conveyer-bed, a series of endless ropes runnin in said bed and forming a carrier running tlroughout the lengt-h of the apparatus, and a grading or assorting rope or be'lt preferably driven from and carried by av large pulley mounted on the same shaft which 1carries 4the pulley forsaid carrierropes and crossing said carrier at one or more points along its length and above the surface ofsaid carrier and so mounted that each suc-A Iceeding crossing is arranged at a less height abovesaid'carrier, such grading rope or belt passing over a pulley or sheave at the rear end ofthe machine and running from such .pulley or sheave underneath the machine view showing a somewhat back to the first-named pulley, with means for driving said carrier and grading-rope.

The invention consists, further, in various details of construction and .combinations of parts, all as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims, and will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which` Figure 1 is aperspective view oi an embodiment of my invention, a portion thereof being broken away'. Fig. 2 is a sectional View on the line rc2 :c2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan modified manner of mounting the grading-rope. Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrammatic-views showing other modiiications of" the manner o'f mounting such gradin -rope.

- As s own in the drawings, 2 represents a `Fig. 1, the bead 5 is cut away,

Vsuitable frame which may be of the ordinary or other preferred construction. It is preferably provided with cross-pieces 3, upon which the carrier-bed 4 is mounted. This carrier-bed is preferably provided at its edges with beads 5, forming a trough. As shown, this carrier extends throughout the length of the machine. At each end of the machine Vis mounted a suitable shaft 6 7, carrying pulleys 8 8 and9 9, the shaft 7 being also provided with a pulley or sheave 10, driven by means of a belt 11, extending from any suitaable source of power.

The conveyer or carrier is composed vof a series of ropes running about the sheaves or pulleys 8, the outside ropes 12 being preferably of slightly larger diameter than the intermediate ropes 13 and running in grooves upon the flanges of the pulleys 8, thus providing for a somewhat faster movement of the outer ropes 12, so thatthe sides ofthe carrier or conveyer thus formed has a taeter longitudinal movement than the'cent'er of the conveyer for the purpose hereinafter stated. The intermediate ropes 13 are guided by grooves 13, formed on the face ofthe pulleys 8.

The sheaves 9 have grooved peripheries and carry the grading-rope 14. As shown in Fig. 1, this grading-rope 14 extends from the pulleys 9 at the front end of the machine about a small idler 15, and thence diagonally across the conveyer or carrier to an idler 16, mounted on the opposite side of the frame of the machine, and thence to another idler 17 and is thus passed as many times across the machine as it is desired to form grades or separations ofthe fruit.

As shown in Fig. 1, the idlers are carried on adjustable brackets mounted in slots 18 in the frame of the machine, and by means of nuts 19 the vertical position of these idlers may be fixed as desired. Thus it will be seen that the leg 20 of the grading-rope is adjusted at one height With respect to the carrier and bed 4, while the leg 21 is lower and nearer thereto, this bein the relative positions of the idlers 16 and 17 with respect to the idler 15. As shown in as at 22, to provide di scharge-apertures for the fruit. With the arrangement of idlers shown in Fig. 1 the legs 20, 21, and &c., have a slight downward inclination.

In the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 the grading-rope 14 passes over successive idlers 15 15 152 153 154 155 156, the leg 20 extendaccomplished by IOO ingV in a horizontal plane between idlers 1,5I and The idler 152 is raised above thev horizontal plane of the idler 15', so that the leg 23 of the grading-ro e 14, extending between the idlers 15 an 152, is higher than' the le 20, The leg or portion 24 of the carrier exten ing between the idlers 152 15a runs at an incline byreason of the idler labeing lowered Y with respect to the horizontal plane of the lIo 'I idlers 28 29:30 31 32 33, theleg 34 between idler 152, thus bringing the leg 24 lower than the leg 20, an'd this'arrangement is duplicated withthe legs 25, 26, and 27. I-t is thus seen that the le s 23, and 25d0 not contact with the fruits, ut are what we may term idlerlegs, having no active operation ',upon the fruits passin along the carrier.

In Fig. 5 tlgie gradingrope 14 is mounted on the idlers 28 29, formin one grading-leg', ex-

than the travel lof the ro es 12 and 13 o the 32 330i' the device, so that each of therading-.legs ofthe rading-rope14,crossinga ove the lcarrier and ated lheights thereabo've. Preferably the grading-rope 14 is moved -at greater s eed carrier. This is accompished by the useofl pulleys of lar er diameter, as shown. By thus moving tIie grading-rope more rapidly than the movement of the carrier and by mounting the grading-legs or portions of they' grading-rope Which act upon the fruit on the carrier at an angle to the travel of the carrier I avoid the abrupt stopping ofthe fruit and obviate yany tendency to bruise or-injure'the tender skinor pulp thereof. Suitable bins and'troughsmay be provided to receive the fruit from the carrier. l

I claim- 1. A fruitfgrader comprising -a frame, ro-

. vtating shaftsl'at the ends of said frame, carrier-pulleyson said shafts, said pulleys provided withgrooved fianges and faces, ropes mounted in said flanges and grooves, and extending from one of said pulleys through the length of the machine and about the other bed 4, are arranged at gradu-' pulleys forming an endless carrier through the machina a grading-rope carried byfpulleys on said shafts, the uper leg of said gradingrope .passing ab out -i i ers mounted on opposite sides of sai frame, said carrier-rope crossing over said carrier above the same, and means 6o for rotating one of said shafts.

2.- A fruit-'grader comprising a frame, rotating shafts at the ends of said frame,- carner-pulleys4 on saidV shafts provided wiith l. grooved Hangers, a bed extending long'tndi- 65 nally of saidframe, ropes mounted 'in the grooves of said flanges and @bnf tiuous bands extending about said pulleys and alongsaid bed, intermediate nopesimount- 'y edon the faces of -s'a'id pulleys and 7o therebetween and thereabove-and 'over be surface of said bed, alading-@epe d above said carrier and legsm' -p'tiens crossing over said carrier atl graduated heights there'above, means for moving said 75. grading-rope, `and means for rotating said carrier. i y' 3. A fruit-grader .com-prism -a rame, setating shafts at the ends of said .amasar-1" ulleys on said shafts provided with groomed 8o gauges, a bed extending 'longitudinallyfel".n said frame, a series of vropes mounted in grooved flanges and on the faces of said puileys and extending over said bed sind 'forming a continuous carrier through said machine, puileys .on said'shafts, a .gradin'grope 'term-4 ing a continuous band extending about 'said last-named pulleys, portions Aol said gradingrope being carried about idleremounted upm opposite sides of-said bed at Lgraduated'aeigm 9o thereabove, means for adjusting the positions of said idlers, and means for mtaing `:sind shafts. i y

4. A fruit-grader having a `flr'ame, a hril zontal fiangedbconveyer-bed supported thone- 9 5 by, a series of endless ropes'ru-nning im sind bed and forming a carrier, means `for supporting and rotating said ropes-,an asserting or' grading rope'crossing above said carrier at graduated heights, and means for: supportroo ing and rotating said grading-rope.

l In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Los Angeles, Celli-tomaia, thisth day of February, 1906.

' MARTIN F. WITT. Imprese-nce of- FREDERLCK S. LYON,

VERNA A. TALBERT. 

